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dddsee
06/21/2007, 12:41 PM
Hi Rogers

Scratching my baldy head on this problem for a week now. I am pretty sure I'll see blood very soon.

Anyways, I've got the 9020 and for a while now, I notice the 9020 does not produce the same amount of skimmate (bubbles/foams) in each of the Foam extraction unit. One seems to be much stronger than the other. In fact, the week side can barely produce enough foam to reach the bottom of the Foam Extraction Unit.

Having said that, I took everything apart and cleaned, cleaned, vinegar, Chlorine, cleaned... Each time I return the unit to the tank, same thing happened. One side produces foams up to the middle of the Foam Extraction unit and the other side barely have enough foam to reach the bottom.

SO... I switch the impeller housing and now the "weak" side of the 9020 produces alot of foam and the strong side becomes "weak". did this a few more times and sure enough, the Impeller Housing swapping makes a difference in performance. I DON"T GET IT. what can go wrong with the Impeller Housing. I checked and checked, they are the same... look the same, smell the same, have the same # of holes...

Anyways, I am in the process of ordering new parts including a new Impeller Housing from the Tunze Canadian Branch... wish me luck.

PS: Not sure if you remember helping me ordering parts from the Canadian Branch few months ago... but I like to say THANKS for your help. The parts finally arrived 2 and a half months later after I post for help on this thread. Without you, I don't think my order would have been able to see the light of day.

rvitko
06/21/2007, 03:13 PM
Thanks! I have an idea of what may cause this, it is rare but I have seen it 2 times in the last several years. The impeller housing has a broad C shaped opening in it, it spans from the hole the impeller spins in to the outlet, it gets narrower near the outlet. This channel should be covered by a small plate of plastic. They are made this way because the same piece is used on small pumps we make (600/2) and the cover for this channel is left off to reduce the pressure. On the skimmer a cover is glued in and this boosts the pressure. I have seen it happen where this plate is missing. It sounds like that is what is happening and it is not immediately obvious unless you are looking for this problem. This channel is about 10mm wide near the impeller and about 2mm wide near the outlet. It is probably 40mm long. Even with the plate there you can see the edges, it has a somewhat C or crescent shape to it.

dddsee
06/21/2007, 03:30 PM
so... if this so call plate is missing, how or what should I order to fix it. I just placed an order for the whole "Impeller Housing" unit. Doesn't hurt to have extra one for emergency. BTW, I purchased this skimmer August 18'06.

THANKS

rvitko
06/21/2007, 03:43 PM
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/787skimmer.jpg

This photo shows what to look for, if you see that channel, it should be replaced under warranty. It is very difficult to order sub assemblies like that plate and get them in a timely manner. They should get you a replacement.

dddsee
06/26/2007, 12:49 PM
Hi Rogers

I finally took it apart again to confirm with what you've said. SADLY to say that the so call "PLATE" is there. Anyway, I re-examine the Impeller Housing with a magnifying glass and 150 Watt halogin light and SADLY to say... I can't find anything wrong with both the impeller.

Both Hydrofoamers are working fine with one impeller housing but not the "BAD" Impeller Housing.

So I am still in the dark why the 9020 is having problem skimming with one Impeller Housing and not the other.


PS: I placed an order for a new Impeller Housing. I am hesitant to bring back the so call "BAD" Impeller Housing to the store I bought from because the "BAD" Impeller Housing looks just FINE.

THANKS

dddsee
07/06/2007, 05:55 PM
Hi Roger

Can you please give me a status on the order I placed back in June.

p.s. I've PM you for the status.

THANKS

dddsee
07/13/2007, 01:31 PM
Hi Roger

I've got the new Impeller Housing and am still having this problem with the 9020.

Here is something new I tried, having both the Hydrofoamer pump in a 5 gallon bucket with tap water, I put a finger to feel the water being push out by the Hydrofoamer pump. Sure enough, one of the Hydrofoamer is definately weaker than the other. And the weaker Hodrofoamer is the one that is producing very little bubbles in the aquarium.

It's been quite an ordeal for me at the moment.

Please help!

THANKS

rvitko
07/13/2007, 01:54 PM
The only source of this issue can be the impeller assembly, the motor is just an electromagnetic coil that changes polarity 60 times a second, in sync with the 60hz, giving a rotational speed of 3600 rpm to the magnet. The impeller must be binding or slipping so it is not spinning properly but I don't beleive the motor itself could be a culptit, it either works or it doesn't.

dddsee
07/17/2007, 05:51 PM
Hi Roger

Sorry for the late reply... got tied down with something else.

I replace the impeller assembly and it seems to have fix the problem finally.

In any case, I replaced both the Impeller Housing and the Impeller Assembly with the new one I ordered.

The left side of the 9020 that needed new impeller Housing, new Imepeller assembly... has Red Sea Ozonizer hooked up with it running 5 mg/hr. My tank is a 90g with heavy fish load.

Can the 9020 handle Ozone this low?

THANKS

rvitko
07/18/2007, 08:59 AM
The low dose of ozone will not be a problem.